---
title: Arch Linux
description: Install a Punktfunk host on Arch (and Arch-derived distros) from the signed pacman binary repo.
---

Set up a Punktfunk host on **Arch Linux** (or an Arch-derived distro like CachyOS/EndeavourOS). The
host installs from a **signed pacman binary repo**, so it updates with `pacman -Syu` like the rest
of your system — no building required. Host encode is **NVENC on NVIDIA**; on **AMD/Intel** HEVC
and AV1 go through **Vulkan Video**, with **VAAPI** for H.264 and as the fallback
(`PUNKTFUNK_ENCODER=auto` picks per GPU).

> New here? Read [Security & Safe Use](/docs/security) first — a streaming host is remote control of
> the machine, so keep it on a trusted LAN or VPN and require pairing.

> Prefer to build it yourself? A split `PKGBUILD` (host + client + optional web console) is in the
> repo at `packaging/arch/` — see the [appendix](#appendix--build-from-source-pkgbuild). The binary
> repo below is the supported path.

## 1. GPU prerequisites

- **NVIDIA:** `sudo pacman -S --needed nvidia-utils` (provides NVENC + the EGL/CUDA zero-copy path).
  Arch's stock `ffmpeg` already has NVENC built in — no RPM-Fusion-style swap like Fedora needs.
- **AMD / Intel:** the Mesa stack. HEVC/AV1 encode goes through **Vulkan Video** by default, so
  install the Vulkan driver — `vulkan-radeon` (AMD) or `vulkan-intel` (Intel) — alongside the VAAPI
  drivers (`libva-mesa-driver` for AMD, `intel-media-driver` for Intel), which carry H.264 and the
  fallback path. Both are usually already installed on a desktop.

## 2. Add the signed repo

The registry **signs its database and every package**, so first trust its key once (after this,
packages install signature-verified):

```sh
# Trust the registry signing key.
curl -fsS https://git.unom.io/api/packages/unom/arch/repository.key \
  | sudo pacman-key --add -
sudo pacman-key --lsign-key E0CA04465C99C936E0B0C6510A317015A34DDD69

# Add the repo (append to /etc/pacman.conf). No SigLevel line needed — pacman's default
# verifies signed packages against the key you just trusted. (printf, not a heredoc, so this
# works in fish too — CachyOS's default shell has no `<<EOF` support.)
printf '\n[punktfunk]\nServer = https://git.unom.io/api/packages/unom/arch/$repo/$arch\n' \
  | sudo tee -a /etc/pacman.conf >/dev/null
```

> **Stable vs canary.** `[punktfunk]` is the **stable** channel — it moves only when a `vX.Y.Z`
> release is cut. For the latest `main` build, use `[punktfunk-canary]` instead (same `Server` line,
> just the repo name). Enable exactly one. See [Release Channels](/docs/channels).

## 3. Install the host

```sh
sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-host      # the streaming host
sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-web       # optional: the browser management console (pairing + status)
sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-gamescope # optional: HDR (10-bit BT.2020 PQ) off gamescope sessions
sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-scripting # optional: the plugin/script runner (see below)
sudo usermod -aG input "$USER"       # /dev/uinput access for virtual gamepads (re-login to apply)
```

Each install is a **full** `-Syu`, on purpose: our packages are built against current Arch
sonames, and `pacman -Sy <pkg>` would drop one onto a system whose other packages are still old —
the classic partial upgrade that breaks Arch boxes. To take several in one go, name them on a
single line: `sudo pacman -Syu punktfunk-host punktfunk-web punktfunk-gamescope`.

`punktfunk-scripting` is the runner behind [Plugins](/docs/plugins); it isn't started for you —
`systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-scripting` when you want it. `punktfunk-client` (the native
GTK4 Linux client) is in the same repo if this box is also a client. The host package ships the
systemd **user** units, the udev rule, the UDP socket-buffer sysctl tuning, and example configs.

Updates later are a normal `sudo pacman -Syu`, then `systemctl --user restart punktfunk-host` so the
running host picks up the new binary. A `-Syu` moves every Punktfunk package you installed, so
restart `punktfunk-web` the same way if you run the console. The web console can run the update for
you — see [Updating the Host](/docs/updating); on Arch that button additionally needs
`PACMAN_FULL_SYSUPGRADE=1` in `/etc/punktfunk/update.conf`, because the only pacman update we will
run is a full one.

## 4. Configure and run

The host runs as a systemd **`--user`** service — it needs your session's PipeWire and D-Bus. Copy a
starting config:

```sh
mkdir -p ~/.config/punktfunk
cp /usr/share/punktfunk/host.env.example ~/.config/punktfunk/host.env
```

How the host creates its virtual display and injects input depends on your desktop, not your distro —
edit `host.env` for the desktop you run, following its page for the exact settings and any quirks:

- [KDE Plasma (KWin)](/docs/kde)
- [GNOME (Mutter)](/docs/gnome)
- [Steam / gamescope](/docs/gamescope)
- [Hyprland](/docs/hyprland)
- [Sway / wlroots](/docs/sway)

Then enable the service and turn on linger so it starts at boot without a login:

```sh
systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user enable --now punktfunk-host
sudo loginctl enable-linger "$USER"
```

Check it came up:

```sh
systemctl --user status punktfunk-host          # active
journalctl --user -u punktfunk-host -f          # watch a client connect
```

Enable the browser console, find your login password, and arm PIN pairing from
[The Web Console](/docs/web-console). For a headless KWin appliance that streams at boot with no
graphical login, see [KDE → Headless session](/docs/kde#headless-session). Full reference:
[Configuration](/docs/configuration) · [Running as a Service](/docs/running-as-a-service).

## 5. Open the firewall (if you have one)

**Stock Arch ships no firewall** — every port is already open, so you can skip this. But **CachyOS
enables `ufw` by default** (firewalld is not installed), and some other spins (e.g. EndeavourOS)
enable **`firewalld`** — an Arch package never opens ports for you, so on those the host is
unreachable until you allow it.

The `punktfunk-host` package installs openers for **both**, so it's a one-liner whichever you run.
The unit you enabled in step 4 runs `serve --gamestream` — the package installs it as it ships and
only rewrites the binary path — so that host serves **both** the native `punktfunk/1` plane and
stock [Moonlight](/docs/moonlight) clients, and needs **both** openers:

```sh
# ufw — CachyOS (and Ubuntu, once you enable ufw):
sudo ufw allow punktfunk-native
sudo ufw allow punktfunk-gamestream

# firewalld — Fedora-like spins (EndeavourOS, …):
sudo firewall-cmd --reload                                        # load the installed definitions
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=punktfunk-native
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=punktfunk-gamestream
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
```

Switched the host to **native-only** — dropped `--gamestream` with a
`systemctl --user edit punktfunk-host` drop-in, or you run `punktfunk-host serve` by hand? Then open
`punktfunk-native` alone and leave `punktfunk-gamestream` closed. `systemctl --user cat
punktfunk-host` shows which one yours is.

`punktfunk-native` opens the QUIC control port (UDP 9777), mDNS discovery and the mgmt/library API
(TCP 47990); `punktfunk-gamestream` opens the fixed Moonlight ports — TCP 47984, 47989 and 48010,
UDP 47998–48000 — plus the same mDNS.
The media **data plane** uses an *ephemeral* UDP port that the client opens with a hole-punch — the
host streams back out through the path the client opened, so there's **nothing fixed to open** as
long as the firewall allows outbound UDP (the default for both ufw and firewalld).

Enabled the **web console** (`punktfunk-web`, above) and want to reach it from your phone or another
machine? It's not opened by the streaming rules — open its port too, the same one-liner way:

```sh
sudo ufw allow punktfunk-web                                                            # ufw
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=punktfunk-web && sudo firewall-cmd --reload  # firewalld
```

That opens **TCP 47992** (HTTPS, login-gated). The mgmt API (47990) is opened for paired clients by the
`punktfunk-native` profile (game-library browsing over mTLS); off-loopback it serves only read-only
status/library, and every admin action stays loopback-only. Full port lists (`nftables`, explicit ports) are in
[`packaging/arch/README.md`](https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk/src/branch/main/packaging/arch/README.md#firewall).

## 6. Connect a client

From any [client](/docs/clients), `--discover` finds the host on the LAN. On first connect, complete
the **PIN pairing**: arm it from [The Web Console](/docs/web-console#arm-pairing), which displays a
4-digit PIN to type into the client. (Pairing is required by default; pass `serve --open` only if
you deliberately want to disable it.) See [Clients](/docs/clients) for per-platform setup.

## Next steps

- **Keep it current** — [Updating the Host](/docs/updating).
- **Remove it again** — [Uninstalling](/docs/uninstall).
- **Something not working?** — [Troubleshooting](/docs/troubleshooting).

## Appendix — build from source (PKGBUILD)

To build instead of using the binary repo, use the split `PKGBUILD` in `packaging/arch/` (produces
`punktfunk-host` + `punktfunk-client`; set `PF_WITH_WEB=1` to also build `punktfunk-web` and
`PF_WITH_SCRIPTING=1` to also build `punktfunk-scripting` — both need `bun`):

```sh
git clone https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk.git && cd punktfunk/packaging/arch
# Build the working tree (no git fetch):
PF_SRCDIR="$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)" makepkg -f --holdver
sudo pacman -U punktfunk-host-*.pkg.tar.zst
```

NVENC/EGL come from the NVIDIA driver (`nvidia-utils`); on a GPU-less builder, symlink the CUDA
stub into the link path first (the `PKGBUILD` header documents this). Full details, the
Fedora→Arch dependency map, and the systemd-sysext mechanism are in
[`packaging/arch/README.md`](https://git.unom.io/unom/punktfunk/src/branch/main/packaging/arch/README.md).
(For a **SteamOS host**, use the [on-device installer](/docs/steamos-host) instead — it builds
the host and the HDR gamescope against the running OS.)
